Milwaukee County

Abele vetoes measure on residency rule exceptions

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele vetoed a resolution Tuesday giving the County Board a say in when exceptions to the county's residency rule are made.

Abele said he took the action because having the board sign off on residency waivers would make it harder "to hire and retain outstanding employees from across the state and country."

The board voted 16-2 to intervene on such matters last month after learning Brian Taffora, Abele's director of economic development, had been given a pass on the county's normal requirement that its employees live in the county. Taffora lives in Cedarburg, in Ozaukee County.

Supervisors have complained they didn't learn about the Taffora residency waiver until a few weeks after they had confirmed him for a four-year term in his appointed position.

Abele's veto wasn't linked to a specific residency case, said Brendan Conway, Abele's spokesman. The county executive also isn't trying to "overthrow" the county's residency policy, he said. Abele last month said he had mixed feelings about the requirement.

The county executive also returned unsigned a board resolution on using $2.3 million of a 2011 surplus to pay off two loans early and save $424,000 in interest. While happy "the board is embracing my focus of paying off debt," Abele said if supervisors had consulted with him they might have used the money to pay off some other debt early for even larger savings.